Red carpet catwalk

For most, it was just another carpet. But for some at last night's AFI awards, the red carpet was a catwalk, with the same media scrum and the chance of a fleeting, starring role. They were the ones who "worked it" like models, posing, beaming, even pouting, and - a boon for the fashion labels they wore - announcing the name of their outfit's designer. Showy glamour wows a crowd and they knew it. Even better, with the right attitude, and the right frock, the lowliest starlet can get her picture on the news.

They were plugging into a growing global trend. Overseas, designers are renowned for getting in a tizz, shipping trunks of frocks to the stylists employed by their favourite nominees, well before the Oscars and Emmys. Here, designers are also starting to recognise the remarkable marketing opportunity offered by the red carpet.

"It's definitely the new catwalk," said Graeme Lewsey, of Mercedes Australian Fashion Week. Last night was the first time the MAFW had officially acknowledged the link between fashion and the red carpet, offering a sponsored team of stylists to dress many of the nominees.

"Aussie labels are doing so incredibly well overseas now," Mr Lewsey said. "It's a great thing if we can get key celebrities to work with high-profile designers."

The AFI awards are still a frock or two short of the slick glamour of Oscar night, but yesterday, more nominees than ever took up the offer of a professional stylist to cobble together their outfit, make-up and hairdo.

"We styled five this year," said Alison Veness-McGourty, editor of Harper's Bazaar, an AFI sponsor. The Harper's team used local and international labels, she said. "We put Freya Stafford in that sensational, chartreuse dress with corset from Gucci... (and) Cathy Freeman's floor-length gown was Chanel," Venness-McGourty said.

Spokeswoman for the MAFW styling team, Tess Glasson, said only local labels such as Lisa Ho were used for its presenters and nominees at last night's awards. "We're making the AFI red carpet a showcase of Australian fashion."